Box Seats: KEEPING SCORE; Entering N.C.A.A.'s via Back Door

By JONAH KERI

Published: February 12, 2006

Colorado's Richard Roby and Air Force's Dan Nwaelele lack the back story and news media attention afforded West Virginia center Kevin Pittsnogle. But they are vital components in two of the nation's most creative basketball offenses and for two of the most surprising teams.

By focusing on execution and efficiency in their motion offenses, Colorado and Air Force have come from nowhere in their conferences to challenge for postseason bids. From coast to coast, coaches are moving away from traditional alignments to take advantage of players' skills and to befuddle opponents. The result has been a brand of basketball that pleases purists and wins games.

One style that has gained traction is the Princeton offense, developed by the Tigers' longtime coach, Pete Carril. It places a premium on passing, cutting and movement without the ball. Patience is also required. Teams work the shot clock to find an opening for a backdoor layup or a 3-pointer. This offense is ideally suited for a balanced team.

That defines West Virginia, which can field five players who can throw pinpoint passes, get to vacant spots in the defense and drain open jumpers. Last season, West Virginia lost in overtime to Louisville in the regional finals of the N.C.A.A. tournament. With Pittsnogle, Mike Gansey, the ever-moving offense and the confusing 1-3-1 zone defense engineered by Coach John Beilein, the Mountaineers have returned to national prominence with a top-10 ranking.

''They shoot the 3 extremely well; that's important for them,'' said Ken Pomeroy, an independent basketball analyst. ''But they're so good at getting good shots off cuts and passes that they can succeed in the flow of their offense, even if they're not shooting as many 3's. Against Wake Forest in the tournament last year, they had the 3 taken away, but the offense adjusted.''

Pomeroy's Web site, kenpom.com, has many statistics measuring various team and player traits. One of the most enlightening is a statistic called Offensive Efficiency, which gauges how many points a team scores per 100 possessions. The statistic doesn't allow a team's pace of play -- whether run and gun or slowdown -- to distort the measurement of its offensive productivity. West Virginia ranked 18th among the 334 Division I schools in Adjusted Offensive Efficiency through Thursday's games.

Air Force was ranked 21st in that category. The Falcons have the third-slowest tempo of any Division I team, according to the Web site. Milking the clock makes sense, given their personnel.

The Falcons lack a true go-to scorer, especially because Nick Welch, the Mountain West co-player of the year two seasons ago, is out for the season with a foot injury. But four Air Force players average double figures in scoring. That includes Nwaelele, who shoots 92 percent from the free-throw line and 51 percent from 3-point range. Entering yesterday's game against Wyoming, the Falcons (18-5, 6-4) were in contention for an N.C.A.A. tournament bid.

''We have to manufacture scoring opportunities through disciplined ball and player movement,'' Coach Jeff Bzdelik said. ''That can counter any discrepancy with the talent level. The only way the offense is going to work is having an 'I don't care attitude' in terms of who shoots the basketball.''

Not far away, Colorado has surprised the Big 12 thanks to the flex offense. It is similar to the Princeton offense in its constant ball reversal, motion and slow pace. Boston College, Gonzaga and Tennessee are flex-offense teams that also rank among the leaders in Offensive Efficiency.

Colorado, which was 15-5 entering yesterday's game against Texas Tech, uses a faster version of the flex. But the Buffaloes also feature one classic aspect of the offense: big men who can pass and also score from long range.

Two senior forwards, 6-foot-9 Andy Osborn and 6-8 Chris Copeland, rank second and third on the team in 3-pointers. They have teamed with Roby, a sophomore guard who is the Buffs' leading scorer, to produce the 22nd-most efficient offense in the country.

''It is a nice luxury to have a big guy who can step out,'' Colorado Coach Ricardo Patton said. ''When we play a big guy like Taj Gray of Oklahoma, we don't have many answers for him on the blocks. But if you can pull him away from the basket with your own big guys who can shoot, that creates driving opportunities for guards.''

Several national powers rank among the elite in efficiency, including No. 1 Connecticut. But the Huskies also block more shots than any other team, rebound like fiends and have a lineup stuffed with N.B.A. prospects.

West Virginia has holes. Led by Gansey's 60 percent field-goal shooting, the Mountaineers field a team of marksmen who have the best turnover margin in the Big East. But only five Division I teams get fewer offensive rebounds. Air Force rarely turns the ball over, forces plenty of opposition miscues and shoots well, but it ranks 320th in offensive rebounding. Colorado takes care of the ball effectively and rates highly in rebounding categories, but only 14 teams get to the line less.